When building wire fence, either barbed wire or electric wire, a number of strands are permanently attached to a sturdy fence post at one end of a run and then loosely strung along the fence row toward a second sturdy fence post. At the second fence post, a conventional tensioning device is used to tighten each wire so all of the wires are under substantial tension and the end of the wire is permanently attached to the second sturdy fence post.
If two people are working on the fence, one person operates the tensioning device and the other walks along the fence row, making sure that the wires are not entangled, either with each other or with bushes, branches, limbs or the like in the right of way. If only one person is working on the fence, the person tightening the wires walks down the fence row after the wires are tightened, checking to see that the wires are parallel and adjacent the fence posts. Almost invariably, one finds that two of the wires have become entangled or one of the wires has become entangled with a bush, branch, limb or the like. This requires the person to walk back to the tensioning device, loosen the entangled wire, walk back to where the entanglement occurred, separate the wires, walk back to the tensioning device and retension the wires while hoping that they do not become entangled again.
When the wires have been appropriately tightened and attached to the second fence post, the builder or builders then attach the wires to the secondary fence posts between the end posts. If the secondary posts are wooden, the tightened wires are attached to the secondary posts with staples. Modern wire fence uses metal posts, called T-posts, for the secondary posts. Barbed wire is attached to the T-posts with clips or ties made for this purpose. Electric wire is supported on secondary posts by insulating attachments.
Disclosures of interest relative to this invention are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 89,281; 305,776; 591,803 and 2,791,841.